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Communist Rebellion

Rape-slay suspect is a former rebel
Authorities formally filed rape with homicide charges on Wednesday against the suspect for the rape and killing of a 7-year-old girl in Mahongkog village, Magpet, North Cotabato last week.

The Manila Times

NPA ‘arms cache’ discovered in Carranglan
The 84th Infantry Battalion of the Joint Task Force (JTF) Kaugnay and Philippine National Police (PNP) Provincial Office of Nueva Ecija said they discovered an “arms cache” of the New People’s Army in Carranglan town on Wednesday.
Politiko

Peace talks

Incidents/Operations 

17 policemen face murder complaint for death of couple on March 7, 2021 police-military raids
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) filed with the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday, Jan. 14, a murder complaint against 17 policemen for the death of a couple during the March 7, 2021 joint police-military operations in Southern Tagalog provinces to ferret out alleged members of communist groups.

Manila Bulletin

Extremism

MARAWI 

Rehabilitation updates

WORLD 

AFRICA/NIGER - Terrorism and violence in the Sahel: "More than 30 million people will need help and protection"
"Three high school students had gone to spend a few days of vacation with their families in the village of Ngoula. Their return to school last Monday was fatal. One of the four friends managed to escape and the three others have since been in the hands of unknown, presumed jihadists who control the region."

Agenzia Fides

Bangsamoro
BARMM 

Army kills mastermind in Mindanao bus bombing
Military authorities here announced today the death of the alleged mastermind and companions in the bus bombing in Aleosan, Cotabato during law enforcement operation Saturday.

NDBC News | Philippine News Agency | ABS-CBN News | Manila Bulletin | Benar News

Soldiers gun down 4 suspects in North Cotabato bus bombing
Major Gen. Juvymax Uy, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, on Saturday said bombing suspects Norodin Hassan, who is a senior official of the Dawlah Islamiya terror group, and his henchmen, Abdonilla, Abdunhaq, both also surnamed Hassan, were killed in an encounter with pursuing soldiers in a secluded area in Carmen, North Cotabato.

Philstar

BARMM parliament balk from opposing law prohibiting child marriage
Regional Labor and Employment Minister Romeo Sema of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao said Saturday the move was deferred, but did not elaborate.

Philstar
 

MAGUINDANAO AND COTABATO CITY 

Police tighten security in Cotabato over spate of violence
Police tightened security measures in Cotabato due to a recent spate of violence in the province like the killing of a barangay official in Pikit town, a bombing of a bus in Aleosan town, and an explosion at a police-military outpost in Pikit.

Rappler

LANAO PROVINCES

BASILAN

Cops foil bombing in Lamitan City
State security forces foiled a bomb attack against an aspirant for town mayor as they prevented an improvised explosive device from blowing up Saturday in Lamitan City, Basilan province.

Philippine News Agency

SULU

Sulu-based ASG member arrested
Police Captain Abdullah Jamiri, Regional Special Operations Unit (RSOU)-Zamboanga Peninsula, identified the arrested ASG member as Aldamir Sajirin, 23, who is currently residing in Pasobolong village, Zamboanga City.

Sunstar

TAWI-TAWI 

Shadow economies
DRUGS

Operations/Incidents

Street level target yields P68K in shabu
An estimated P68,000 worth of suspected shabu was seized in a drug bust led by the operatives of Police Station 2 at Purok Sigay in Barangay 2, Bacolod City past 8 p.m. Thursday, January 13.

Sunstar

P1.7-M shabu seized, 3 drug suspects nabbed in Pampanga
Some PHP1.7 million worth of shabu were seized from three drug peddlers in a buy-bust operation in Mabalacat City, this province on Friday.

Philippine News Agency

Mabalacat police seize P1.7M worth of shabu
THE Mabalacat City police recently confiscated P1.7 million worth of shabu from three suspected drug pushers in Barangay Santa Maria, Mabalacat City.

Sunstar

7 drug suspects arrested in Pasay and Las Pinas
Police arrested seven drug suspects including a minor and seized P73,644 worth of illegal drugs in a series of buy-bust operations in Pasay City and Las Pinas City on Friday.

Manila Bulletin

P680,000 worth of shabu seized in Caloocan buy-bust
Police seized P680,000 worth of shabu from two suspects in a buy-bust operation in Barangay 133, Caloocan City at 9 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 14.

Manila Bulletin

Recovery and Rehabilitation

ILLICIT FIREARMS, EXPLOSIVES, AND AMMUNITION

‘Smart guns’ finally arriving in US, seeking to shake up firearms market
Personalized smart guns, which can be fired only by verified users, may finally become available to US consumers after 2 decades of questions about reliability and concerns they will usher in a new wave of government regulation.

ABS-CBN News

CROSS-BORDER TRADING/ SMUGGLING/ COUNTERFEIT GOODS  

HUMAN TRAFFICKING

KIDNAPPING/ ABDUCTION

ILLEGAL GAMBLING

ILLICIT FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS/ EXTORTION

Smell something phishy? The rise of phishing scams
Jacildo told SunStar Bacolod that she received the email on December 29, 2021, informing her that her GCash account, a virtual wallet application, was allegedly blocked and that she needed to click a link to verify it.

Sunstar
 

ILLEGAL LOGGING

Land issues
Indigenous People's
Dam projects to swallow sacred grounds of Cordillera’s river people
Bulu, Basan’s childhood home, is now one of many villages endangered by the Pan Pacific Renewable Power Philippines Corporation’s (PPRPPC) P19.8-billion 150-megawatt Gened 1 dam project.

Rappler
Human Rights

2 Anakpawis members gunned down in Sorsogon
Two members of farmers group Anakpawis were gunned down in Sorsogon on Saturday, January 15, police confirmed.

Rappler

Press Freedom/ Freedom of expression

Seares: Broadcaster Rico Osmeña, who survived December 16 gun attack, still in pain, hopes to go back on air, advises ‘documented’ commentary, Lord’s protection, not gun or bodyguard. Palace task force prods police to solve shooting.
About 1 p.m. of December 16, 2021, just hours before Super Typhoon Odette struck Cebu City: Rico Osmeña, a block-time dyLA radio commentator and stringer of the Manila broadsheet “Daily Tribune,” was riding a modernized jeepney on MJ Cuenco Avenue in Cebu City. He had just come from dyLA radio station at the pier area, where he hosted the commentary program “Karon Sugbo.”

Sunstar

Martial Law 

Governance

COVID-19

Cases

Another all-time high: PH records 39,004 new COVID-19 cases
The Department of Health (DOH) on Saturday reported 39,004 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the number of active cases in the country to 280,813.

Inquirer

Omicron cases may double in February: DOH
The Department of Health (DOH) is seeing a community transmission of the Omicron coronavirus variant in the National Capital Region although a peak in the number of cases is not expected until next month.

Philippine News Agency

COVID-19 surge possibly slowing down in Cavite, Rizal, Bulacan; rising in other areas
The surge of COVID-19 cases could be slowing down in Cavite, Rizal, and Bulacan but is still in its early stages in several provinces, independent analytics group OCTA Research said Saturday.

Inquirer

Department of Health

Why antigen tests still not included in DOH COVID tallies
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, the DOH spokesperson, also stressed on Friday that not all of the positive results from the antigen test data could be considered qualified for inclusion in the official case count.

Inquirer

IATF/NTF COVID-19 

Palace to rely on house-to-house vaccination of elderly, people with comorbidities
The government is counting on house-to-house campaigns to vaccinate senior citizens and other persons vulnerable to COVID-19 especially those who are living outside the National Capital Region Plus.

Philstar

PNP starts crackdown on fake vax cards
The Philippine National Police (PNP) has launched a crackdown against the manufacture and use of fake vaccination cards amid the government’s decision to contain the movement of the unvaccinated individuals.

Manila Bulletin

Regions

Luzon including NCR 

LRT-1 starts free random COVID-19 antigen tests for passengers
The Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC) will provide the random testing for passengers who will give their consent or volunteer for testing, the DOTr said.

Inquirer

Metro Manila mayors won’t reimpose curfew, for now – MMDA
Because many Filipinos are “self-regulating” when it comes to leaving their homes amid the COVID-19 surge, mayors in the capital region have agreed not to reimpose a general curfew, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chair Benhur Abalos Jr. said on Saturday, January 15.

Rappler

Visayas 

Negros Occidental’s top hospital limits pediatric admissions to emergencies
The hospital's COVID-19 unit for children nears full capacity as Bacolod City's daily positivity rate climbs from 34.25% on January 10 to 63.49% on January 14

Rappler

Mindanao

In Zamboanga City, “No RT-PCR, No Entry” policy reimposed
The Task Force COVID-19 here has reimposed the ‘No RT-PCR, No Entry’ policy for all inbound travelers here starting Sunday, January 16, due to a spike in  COVID-19 cases. 

MindaNews

Region 12 COVID-19 cases: from just 4 on January 1 to 154 on January 13
Region 12 logged 154 new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases as of Thursday evening, January 13, a gigantic leap of 3,750 percent from just the four cases recorded on the first day of 2022, records showed.

MindaNews

CDO imposes ‘no vax, no entry’ in malls and markets as COVID-19 cases surge
COVID-19 cases here breached the 100-mark on Friday, prompting officials here to implement a “No Vaccine, No Entry” policy in the city’s malls and markets, and order the removal of basketball rings in the barangays. 

MindaNews

Acosta assumes post as Minda chair January 17
FORMER Davao City councilor and newly appointed Mindanao Development Authority (Minda) Chairperson Mabel Sunga Acosta is set to assume her position on Monday, January 17, 2022.

Sunstar

World 

North Korea tests railway-borne missile amid rising tension with US
North Korea tested a railway-borne missile in its firing drills on Friday, state media KCNA said on Saturday, January 15, amid the United States’ push for fresh sanctions against the isolated state following its recent series of weapons tests.

Rappler

Canadian foreign minister to visit Ukraine, vows to deter Russian aggression
Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly will visit Kyiv next week to reaffirm support for Ukrainian sovereignty and reinforce efforts to deter “aggressive actions” by Russia, Ottawa said on Saturday, January 15.

Rappler

China reaffirms opposition to US sanctions on Iran
China reaffirmed its opposition to unilateral sanctions by the United States against Iran during a meeting between Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Iranian counterpart, while backing efforts to revive a 2015 nuclear deal between major powers and Iran.

Rappler

Japanese students injured in stabbing during entrance exams – media
Several high school students sitting their university entrance exam in Tokyo were wounded on Saturday, January 15, in an apparent knife attack, Japanese media said.

Rappler

UK government promoted firm at center of alleged Chinese influence operation for years
The British government had been directing investors towards the law firm run by a woman accused by the country's own intelligence service of political interference on behalf of China for years, documents from its trade department show.

CNN Philippines

US intelligence indicates Russia preparing operation to justify invasion of Ukraine
The US has information that indicates Russia has prepositioned a group of operatives to conduct a false-flag operation in eastern Ukraine, a US official told CNN on Friday, in an attempt to create a pretext for an invasion.

CNN Philippines
 

Incidents and Violations 

Editorial, Analysis, Opinion and Features

Senate to elect new leader
I agree with the plan to elect a new “independent” Senate president from among these holdover senators elected in 2019 whose six-year term will expire on June 30, 2025

Inquirer

Role of surveys in elections
Just how reliable are pre-election surveys, and do they do more harm than good in shaping public opinion?
CNN Philippines

Who’s got solid plans for PH?
I visited the official websites of the serious presidential candidates—Vice President Leni Robredo, Sen. Ping Lacson, Sen. Manny Pacquiao, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, and Bongbong Marcos—the names are listed in the order of their current official status.

Inquirer

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT

AUDIT, GRAFT, AND CORRUPTION

BUDGET, FINANCE, and TAXATION 

BUSINESS, ECONOMY AND INVESTMENT 

BUILD, BUILD, BUILD and PUBLIC WORKS

DISASTER AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE 

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 

DEFENSE AND SECURITY 

Armed Forces of the Philippines 

Philippine National Police 

EDUCATION

DepEd: Class suspension amid Covid-19 surge is up to LGU, local school officials
The Department of Education (DepEd) 7 has left the discretion to suspend modular distance learning classes to the 19 schools division offices (SDO) and the local government units (LGUs).

Sunstar
 

ELECTION RELATED

18-year-old arrested for gun ban violation in Muntinlupa

Police arrested an 18-year-old male for illegal possession of a firearm and violation of the gun ban in Muntinlupa City on Friday night, Jan. 14.
Manila Bulletin

'E-rally' page bubuksan ng Comelec sa Pebrero
Bubuksan ng Commission on Elections sa Pebrero ang "E-rally" page sa Facebook na layong bigyan ng patas na pagkakataon ang mag kandidato na mailahad ang kanilang plataporma at maabot ang mga botante. 

ABS-CBN News

Mga naarestong lumabag sa election gun ban, umabot na sa 76
Batay sa PNP, nakumpiska sa mga naturang violator ang 12 firearms, 148 ammunition, at isang deadly weapon. Ang mga lumabag sa gun ban ay mula sa Sorsogon, Davao de Oro, La Union, Bulacan, Lanao del Sur, Abra, Negros Occidental, Batangas, Nueva Ecija, Quezon, at Taguig.
RMN Networks

Incidents

INFORMATION, COMMUNICATION AND TECHNOLOGY  

ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES

As global temperatures continue to rise, climate anxiety will be a growing issue for young people, therapists warn

Jon Reeves first realized that treating climate anxiety would become a regular part of his job in 2016. He was then working in Massachusetts as a student counselor at Boston College, and the country was about to elect noted climate-change denier Donald Trump to the highest office in the land.
Yahoo News

JUDICIARY

Supreme Court

Court of Appeals

Sandiganbayan

Municipal/Regional Trial Courts

LABOR

LEGISLATIVE

Senate of the Philippines


Drilon to Congress: Pass critical laws in the remaining 10 session days
Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon on Saturday, January 15 pressed Congress to move swiftly in the remaining 10 session days to pass critical laws that could hasten the country’s economic recovery, address the proliferation of troll accounts, address franchise woes, and expand protection for solo parents before going on recess again for the 2022 national and local elections.

Manila Bulletin

House of Representatives

Lower House lockdown lifted on Jan. 17 for resumption of regular sessions
Regular sessions will resume on Monday, Jan. 17 in the House of Representatives after the leadership decided to no longer extend the two-week lockdown it imposed as part of precautionary measures against the spread of COVID-19 infection.

Manila Bulletin

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS (LGUs)

OFFICIAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE

FOREIGN RELATIONS   

West Philippine Sea

Ex-PH top diplomat backs US study challenging China's maritime claims
Del Rosario, who chairs local think tank Stratbase ADR Institute, said the study - called Limits in the Seas No. 150 - "draws heavily from the 2016 Arbitral Ruling won by the Philippines in The Hague against China."

CNN Philippines

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE

Agri workers dismayed over gov’t directive to produce crops for export
In a statement, Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura Chairperson Antonio Flores responded to the issue saying that, “the Department of Agriculture is desperate to starve farmers and agricultural workers. If they continue to push farmers to plant high-value crops (HVCs) that the country can export overseas, the Filipinos will only harvest hunger.”

Bulatlat

GENDER

HOUSING and SETTLEMENT

POVERTY

SOCIAL WELFARE AND DEVELOPMENT

TRANSPORTATION

Local airlines to start implementing 'no vaccination, no ride' policy on Jan. 17

Unvaccinated people wanting to travel to and from Metro Manila will be barred from taking domestic flights beginning Monday, Jan. 17, with the implementation of the controversial "no vaccination, no ride" policy.
CNN Philippines

TOURISM

WATER and ENERGY


#NoFilter: Heavy siltation turns river, coastal waters to orange
Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (Idis) Executive Director Mark Peñalver told SunStar Davao that residents attributed the incident to a mining operation in the area.

Sunstar

Iberdrola enters Philippines market
The projects have wind energy service contracts awarded to Triconti by the Department of Energy (DOE). These project sites, located in shallow waters off the coast of areas in Luzon and the Visayas, are the first offshore wind service concessions awarded in the country.

Philstar

Magat Dam to generate power for May 9 polls
The Magat Dam in northern Luzon will release water for power generation from March 5 to May 9 to help boost the available power supply for the coming national automated elections.

Philippine News Agency

Brewing summer of our discontent
IN March 2019, some 10,000 households across the National Capital Region (NCR) experienced the worst water supply shortage in decades.

Business Mirror

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